Alexander has just received some really bad news from his parents. His dad has taken a job in a city a thousand miles away, which means that he, his mom, his dad, and his bossy older brothers, Nick and Anthony, are going to have to move to a whole new city.
Even though his mom says, ‘Wait, you’ll like it,’ Alexander already knows that he’ll hate it. He’ll hate it because he’ll never have a best friend like Paul again. And he’ll never have a great sitter like Rachel again. And he’ll never again have his soccer team or his carpool or kids who know him or… Anyway, he can’t bear to leave the people and places he loves, so he decides that he won’t move.
First, he tries to live with three different neighbors. Then he tries to build a tent so he can live by himself. Then he decides he’ll hide so that his parents will never find him, but that doesn’t work out either.
While Alexander barricades his bedroom door, his mom and dad and even his brothers find some special ways to make it easier for Alexander to leave. They also help him to understand that home is ‘where your family is, where you’re with the people who love you best of all.’
Finally, Alexander agrees to leave but warns that—Do you hear him? He means it!—he’s not going to move again! Commissioned and premiered by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.